Cumberland Police Department on Facebook
A young investigator submitted DNA samples she collected from cookies and carrots put out for Santa Claus and his reindeer in Rhode Island and asked the police to test the evidence.
She sent samples to half-eaten Oreo cookies and baby carrots Cumberland Police wrote on Facebook. It says:
“Dear Cumberland Police Department, I took a sample of the cookies and carrots I left for Santa and the reindeer on Christmas Eve and I was wondering if you could take a DNA sample to see if Santa is real?”
Cumberland Police responded on Facebook, saying that Chief Matthew Benson “immediately directed his investigative division to forward her evidence to the Rhode Island Department of Health and Medical Examiner for analysis” to check for a possible match to “Santa Claus (a.k.a. , Kris Kringle aka St. Nicholas aka St. Nick) and/or one of his nine reindeer.”
The department contacted a “prospective CPD detective and presented her with some evidence that had already been found that supports the presence of Santa Claus in her neighborhood” on the night before Christmas. They attached a surveillance photo of a reindeer in what appeared to be a front yard.
“This young woman clearly has a keen sense of the truth and the investigative process and has done a tremendous job gathering her evidence for presentation,” officers wrote in a Facebook post. “We will do everything we can to give her answers.”
A Facebook user who appeared to be the girl’s mother thanked the department.
“My Scarlett will be so thrilled that you are looking into ‘her case’!!!!!” – wrote the user.
